Stromgarde
= The Nation of Stromgarde = thumb|The flag of Stromgarde Leader: Prince Galen Trollbane, son of Thoras Trollbane Colour: Red = Stromgarde Keep = Level 30-45 Sub-Region Also called Stromgarde Keep. Also written as StromGarde. Stromgarde Keep is a ruined keep on the southwest corner of the Arathi Highlands in Lordaeron (location map). The city of Stromgarde was founded Strom, then the home of the Arathi tribe of humans living in what were later to be known as the Eastern Kingdoms. Through a combination of diplomatic ingenunity and military prowess, the Arathi managed to both conquer and unite the other nearby human tribes and solidify the banner of the burgeoning Arathi Empire. The city of Strom grew as a center of wealth, power and learning until the dawning of the Troll Wars. It was at this point that the High Elves of Quel'Thalas, formerly aloof and untalkative toward the humans, beseeched their southern neighbors for aid against the Forest Trolls -- the remnants of the Amani Empire. The High Elves agreed to teach the humans of Strom the ways of magic in exchange for military aid. Thus, in a decisive battle east of the Alterac Mountains, the armies of the trolls met the combined forces of the humans and High Elves. The trolls were vanquished, and the battle was the last time the trolls of the north would ever fight as a unified people. However, the battle was, at the same time, the beginning of the end of the Arathi Empire. The humans who had been trained as mages by the Elves took to the art of magic easily, with an even greater penchant for the potent forces of the Twisting Nether than Elves themselves. The rules of Strom, concerned with the growing power of the mages, placed numerous restrictions on the manner in which magic could be used. Over time, the practitioners of the arcane grew weary of these restrictions and set off to found their own city wherein magic could be practiced freely -- this gave rise to the city of Dalaran on the southern shores of Lordamere Lake. This initial splintering created the momentum amongst the Arathi people needed to launch wave after wave of westward and northward expansion. Amongst the numerous cities founded during this time were Stratholme and Lordaeron. One particular movement opted to travel far to the south, eventually establishing the city of Stormwind. Many of these newer cities began to attract settlers at an astonishing rate, and it was only a matter of years before the once-powerful Arathi Empire was splintered into seven distinct human nations. Strom was no longer the center of the world, and it was during this time that its leaders changed its name to Stromgarde. By the time of the Second War, the nation of Stromgarde controlled only the Arathi Highlands and the island-fortress of Tol Barad. It was quick to join the Alliance of Lordaeron under the leadership of King Terenas, and was involved in the military effort to defeat the Orcs and push them back to the Dark Portal. After the Second War had ended, the mountain kingdom of Alterac was in ruins and the High Elves had seceded from the Alliance. Given the high tax burden of rebuilding cities such as Stormwind that had been ravaged by the Orcs, King Genn Greymane of Gilneas pulled his nation from the Alliance as well. In his wake, the nation of Stromgarde also departed. thumb|The ruins of Stromgarde The geographic location of Stromgarde, coupled with the defense provided by Thoradin's Wall, helped to ensure its survival when the Scourge invaded Lordaeron and destroyed that kingdom. Ultimately, however, Stromgarde would not meet a better fate herself, as a few short years after the defeat of the Burning Legion, the city finally fell to the forces of the shadowy organization known as the Syndicate. Composed of members of the former nation of Alterac, the Syndicate's aim was to exact vengeance upon the human kingdoms its leaders felt had betrayed Alterac during the Second War. Stromgarde's army, however, was far from defeated, and still maintains a base of strategic operations at the crevasse known as Refuge Point in the nearby Highlands, as well as portions of the devastated city itself. One of the highest-ranking leaders of the Syndicate, Lord Falconcrest, commanded Syndicate efforts from the keep in the center of Stromgarde until agents of the Alliance confronted and slew him -- surely a sweet moment for those who had to witness the fall of humanity's oldest city. It is likely that his death disrupted Syndicate efforts in the Arathi region to a great degree. =Quests= See goblinworkshop list of quests for Stromgarde =See also= *Arathor *Arathi Category:Zone:Arathi Highlands Category:World:Azeroth Category:Continent:Eastern Kingdoms Category:Human Nations